By: Samantha Granger, sports information assistant
Heidelberg stats I DePauw stats
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Coming off a rough Friday night, the Beavers continued with the Sommer Center Spiketacular against Heidelberg and DePauw on Saturday, Sept. 5. The Beavers started the morning off by taking the first set from Heidelberg, 25-19, before the Student Princes fought back to take sets two (25-20) and three (25-22).
Bluffton battled back to even the match with a 25-22 set four victory. Heading into the fifth set the Beavers got down early and could not pull it out, falling 15-7. The home team was led offensively by the four captains. Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) topped the team with 18 kills and hit .317 for the match, Kendra Parmenter (Grove City) chipped in 13 kills, while MacKenzie McFarlin (Ashland) and Lauren Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) finished with 11 and 10 spikes, respectively. Erin Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) dished out 46 assists and added 12 digs for the Beavers. Sydney Mohler (Lima/Central Catholic) led the team with 27 digs and two service aces.
After a short break, the Beavers came out to face DePauw to wrap up the weekend. Bluffton started quickly in set one but that was not enough to stop the Tigers, falling 25-23. Despite back-and-forth play, including nine ties in set two, the Beavers could not push through as DePauw went up two sets with the 25-20 victory.
Bluffton was down 8-2 early in the third but the home favorites slowly chipped away at the score and pulled it together to take the set, 25-21. With the momentum from set three still behind them, the Beavers went on to take set four, 25-18. The momentum wasn’t enough to last through set five as Bluffton came out on the short end of a 15-11 final score.
The Beavers were led by MacKenzie McFarlin with 19 kills and no errors for a hitting percentage of .422. Senior Jenny Brown, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, piled on 16 kills for the match while Lauren Weisgarber chipped in 14. Erin Weisgarber directed the offense with 63 assists. Defensively, Sydney Mohler and Becca Tourney (Columbia City, Ind.) tallied 20 and 15 digs, respectively.
The Beavers will return to competition next weekend in Colorado Springs, Co., for another round of tough competition at Colorado College. Bluffton opens with Chapman College at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11.
-BEAVERS-
